Chaotic Universe
by Writterartistmangaka
Summary: Steven gets a mysterious code from this game Connie showed him. Chaotic is not ready for a boy like Steven. (I'm not good at summaries. Read and tell me if I should continue, cause for now I don't have anything planned for this story other than cute Steven/Connie shenanigans and reactions to Steven's powers and personality.) I own neither stories.
1. You've got mail

\- Chapter One: You've got mail -

"Tangath-Toborn uses the Sword of Kayath!"

An excited voice exclaimed inside a cozy beach house, home to the crystal gems. Steven was sitting on his bed, star in his eyes as he typed on the keypads of his computer. The screen pictured a card getting blown to bits, followed by confetis and a victory sign.

"Woohoo!" He shouted, throwing his arms up. "That's 5 victories in a row for Tangath-Toborn!"

"Are you still playing that strange game?" An annoyed voice asked as Peridot entered the house. "You've been sitting there all morning!"

"Yes! And it's awesome! You really should give it a try."

"Oh no!" She immediately backpedaled away from him. "You got me hooked on _Camp Pining Hearts_ , then on _Little Butler_ , THEN on _Unfamiliar Familiar_ , you are not bewitching me into wasting my time with another mind-numbing distraction!" She exclaimed.

"Suit yourself. But I'm sure you'd like it if you gave it a tr-... Huh?"

Steven had interrupted himself mid-sentence when his screen bleeped. He clicked on the mail icon that had appeared and gave a puzzled look to the strange series of letters the mail contained. Peridot, who had gotten curious, leaned over Steven shoulder to observe the message. Her face scrunched in confusion as it seemed to make no sense.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. It's just some weird letters thrown together." Steven said.

"Is someone sending you an encrypted message through this game?" The small gem panicked, hidding behind the teen.

"I don't think so. Maybe it's an anagram, like these letters form a word?"

"What word would you make with 'A-F-E-V-G-H-D-I'?"

"I don't know... I better call Connie. She's been playing longer than I have. Maybe she knows?" The teen said, picking up his scanner and dialing for Connie.

"Hey Steven. What's up?" Connie asked from the screen.

"Hey Connie, I just got his weird mail on my Chaotic account. I don't really understand... It's just a bunch of letters."

When the young man looked down to his scanner, Connie's eyes were wide and her face was frozen in shock.

"Uh... Connie?"

"You got your code?..." She whispered, a smile forming on her lips. "YOU GOT A CHAOTIC CODE!?"

Her yelling startled the young half-gem, who almost dropped his scanner and juggled with it for a few moments before catching it. All the while, Connie had been on an excited rant.

"OH MY GOSH! Steven, this is amazing! I can't believe you finally got your code! Oh! This is the absolute best thing ever! I'm so happy! Isn't it great?!"

"Uh... Yeah! Yeah, it's totally awesome." The young man chuckled nervously... "Why is it so awesome again?"

"It's... Kind of hard to explain. Best if you just see for yourself."The girl said. "Ok, now just type into your scanner the code you just got and watch."

Steven looked unsure, but shrugged as he ended the conversation and typed in the code. The second he pressed enter, the screen went black. Surprised, Steven tried to activate his scanner again, but it remained unresponsive. A little panicked, he then looked at his computer screen, where he saw that he had been logged out of his online game. He tried to get back in, but the game refused to operate.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?" He whined. "What's going on? Connie said it would be amazing! Now my scanner is broken and I can't access my online game..."

"Maybe the game thought that you've played long enough and decided you needed a break... I sure think so." Peridot mumbled as she left, her curiosity satisfied.

Steven's face fell as he failed once again to access his account. Sighing, he slumped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He frowned when he noticed a huge amount of discomfort in his back and stretched. He groaned as his joints popped and thought. **Wow... Maybe Peridot is right. I have been cooped up here for a while... I know! I'll just go for a swim. Connie has sword training with Pearl later today. I'll ask her how to fix this then.** With that in mind, he closed his computer and went to change into his bathing suit. Little did he know what was going on on the other side of the scanner.


	2. Welcome to Chaotic

\- Chapter Two: Welcome to Chaotic -

 **(A.N: This chapter is rather short, just to give you guys an idea of what they look like. In this fanfic, Steven and Connie are both older, 16 and 15 respectively. Steven aged really quickly. Most fans agree that gems age based on their state of mind, so Steven got older a lot after whatever fight with Homeworld happened. He looks more like a 18/19-year-old.)**

What the young man didn't know was that, when he pressed the button, a part of him got sucked into a swirling vortex of blue digits. With a bright flash of light, he suddenly found himself off the ground and fell on his back, hitting his head rather painfully. With a groan, he pushed himself up and froze at what he saw.

He was in a humongous structure. Completely white with a few silver highlights here and there, the place was buzzing with activity from hundreds of teenagers walking about. There were huge screens along the walls with videos of creatures fighting. Some strange robotic things floated around, some carrying various types of food. When the young man looked down, he saw he was sitting on some sort of white disk that reminded him of the gems' warp pads. Next to him, one of those pads glowed blue and someone appeared in a flash of blue lights.

Steven stood up and looked around, eyes wide.

"Oh my gosh..." He whispered. "This is SO COOL!"

His shout attracted some attention, but when they saw the amazed look in the young man's eyes as he looked around with a ridiculously wide grin, they simply scoffed at the newbie and returned to their business.

"Steven!"

The aforementioned gem turned in time to see his best friend Connie jumping into his arms. The two laughed as they spinned around a few times before separating. Steven took a few moments to observe Connie. She had gotten taller over the last three years. Her 15th birthday had happened barely a month ago, but she definitely had matured way before that. Her body was almost finished transitioning into that of a woman, but Steven thought she still looked the same, only older. Her hair was a bit shorter, and she had made a habit of braiding it, even when she wasn't training. What Steven liked the most, though was the fact she had stopped wearing her glasses, and now he could see her face completely.

Connie also looked Steven over. She could still hardly believe how much he had grown in such a short time. She knew gems were different, so when Steven suddenly started getting taller and taller with each passing week, she knew it was probably normal. But it was still difficult to adjust to. In barely a year, his body seemed to have gone through 5 years worth of growth. Where she used to be taller than him, she now barely reached his shoulders. His hair had grown out too, and he kept the wild mass of tangles attached with a sturdy rope. He was still rather chubby, like a huge teddy-bear without fur. There was the beginning of a beard growing on his chin, but his face had matured in a different way. His eyes looked less large and his cheeks had lost their "baby-fat" look, but he still had the same huge grin and sparkly starry-eyed look he had when they were kids. Connie wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit jealous that Steven practically skipped the whole "Awkward Puberty" phase she was still struggling with.

"So? What do you think?" She asked as Steven looked around again, trying to take everything in.

"I... Connie, I can't even begin to describe how amazing this place is! Where even are we?"

"Steven, welcome to Chaotic."


	3. Let's get Chaotic

\- Chapter Three: Let's get Chaotic -

"Chaotic?" The young man asked.

"Yup! This place is where players from all around the world can come and play the game for real." Connie explained. "Isn't it amazing?"

"Totally! I-" The half-gem froze when he suddenly realised something. "Oh my gosh! Peridot! She must be freaking out after seeing me vanish." He panicked.

"Don't worry. You're still there. Most likely frustrating over the fact your game isn't working anymore." Connie started, and continued when she noticed Steven only looked confused. "See, when you activate your code, your scanner sort of creates a 'digital' copy of you that is transported to Chaotic. The real you is still on earth but your scanner is deactivated and you can't access the online game, because Chaotic-you is using your deck."

"Wow... That's amazing!" Steven said, looking down at his scanner. "So let me guess. These tables over there are where you play?" He asked, pointing at the trading center.

"No, those are where you can trade with other players." Connie corrected him. "And over there, with the screens, you can watch your previous battles or get information about your cards. The center tables are for watching matches and eating. The screens all around show either matches happening right now or replaying some old ones."

Steven looked at the screens and his eyes widened at the spectacle. The creatures he had only seen on his cards were there, in the flesh, battling right before his eyes. There was Blazzer against Biurk, Zerv against Rothar, and many others.

"WOW! This is incredible! They have virtual creatures battling as you play online?" He asked.

"Not exactly. See, you actually-"

"Chaotic Universe?" One of the floating robots asked Steven, cutting Connie off.

"Yeah?"

"You are scheduled to have your first match in the Imthor Drome against Oasis Devil, in 14 minutes. Please, do not be late." The robot said, before leaving.

"Ok..? Thanks." He waved the machine off before turning to Connie. "What was he talking about?"

"Your first match in Chaotic. Come on! The Imthor Drome is pretty far and we have less than fifteen minutes to get there."

The two friends then set off for Battledrome Imthor. As the conveyor belt took them there, Connie explained what the Dromes were.

"See, a Battledrome is where players go to battle. There are exactly eight of them. There's Battledrome Imthor, Crellan, Amzen, Chirrul, Hotekk, Oron, Tirasis and the Beta Drome. The Beta Drome is where you can do pretty much anything you want. Three vs one, two vs two, battle alone, etc. There's no Codemaster so there are no rules."

"What's a Codemaster?"

"A Codemaster is sort of like the arbitrator. There's one for each drome and they make sure players respect the rules and there are no cheating. If a player does cheat, they can ban him permanently form Chaotic. But what's really cool is, if you win seven matches in a drome, you get to battle against a Codemaster. And if you win, you get extra rare locations scans from their deck." The young woman explained. "But winning against a Codemaster is super tough."

The two stopped their discussion as they arrived to the Imthor drome. Steven gaped at the humongous silver and yellow building.

"This is where we battle?" He gawked. "Kinda big just for a online match."

"Steven, you don't just battle online. You battle _as_ the creature!"

"What do you mean, _as_ the creature?" He asked, confused.

"You'll see." Connie said, pushing him towards the door. "Now hurry! Your match is about to start. I'll be cheering for you!"

At this encouragement, Steven stepped through the doors of the Imthor drome. His eyes widened when he saw the humongous dark green and blue interior. The large dome was empty, except for a podium where he assumed his scanner was supposed to go. A strange alarm sound went off as a Chaotic symbol appeared at the center of the drome.

"Welcome to Battledrome Imthor." A robotic voice said. "Steven Universe, Chaotic codename: Chaotic Universe. Step forward and dock your scanner."

Steven did as he was told and gasped when the floating screen appeared. With stars in his eyes, he poked the screen to see if it was real, and chuckled at the sensation of touching the hologram. He looked at the bottom of the screen to see four wheels. Blue, purple, green and grey and one large white one, laying vertically next to the four others. He spinned the blue one and grinned when he saw his deck on the left side of the screen.

"John Dechiled, Chaotic codename: Oasis Devil. Step forward and dock your scanner."

The young man looked up to see another boy, around 16-years-old, dock his own yellow scanner. He had messy brown hair and blue eyes, and wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a skate-board on it.

"Hey." Steven waved.

"Yo." The guy answered.

"... Nice shirt you got there." The young gem said.

"Yours is pretty cool too."

Steven looked down and chuckled nervously as he read "Professional Beach Hunk" on the pale pink fabric.

"First time playing?" The brunet asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Your bare feet kind of gave it away." He replied, and Steven looked down to see that, indeed, he didn't have his sandals on. "Don't worry. I'll help you out. It's like the online game. You select your creature, battle gear and mugic like this." He said, selecting his own creature and Steven doing the same. "That's it. Since it's your firts match, we're doing a one on one."

 **Ok.** Steven thought as he looked through his deck. **Since it's a one on one, better go with my go-to guy: Tangath Toborn!**

"So, what's your game?" John asked, setting his deck.

"Well, I'm got an Overworld deck and-... Wait a minute." He said, glaring at the other player. "You're my opponent! Why would I tell you my strategy?"

"Shoot. Hoped you wouldn't notice." John chuckled.

"You tried to trick me!"

"Hey, a guy's gotta try."

"I got my eye on you, mister!" The half-gem said, narrowing his eyes.

 **Man, that was sneaky.** He thought as he selected his battle gear. **I better keep on my toes. Let's see... His screenname is "Oasis Devil" and his scanner is yellow. That means he's most likely going to use a mipedian. I should probably equip Tangath with Spectro Viewers, but then I won't be able to use the Sword of Kayath. And Tangath's stats are better when he has it equipped.** The young man pondered about it for a few moments and chose protection over attack, selecting the Spectro Viewers. **Now for my mugic... Song of reversal. That ought to give me an edge. And now my locations. If it's like the online game, i got to pick ten. I better use some Overworld locations. He'll see it coming, but it'll still give me an advantage.** With that thought in mind, Steven entered his last location as his opponent did the same.

"Players, lock your deck."

The two young men pressed the Chaotic icon at the top of their scanners and their screens changed to allow the two to see whom the other would battle as. Steven smiled as he saw his hunch was right. John had chosen Vinta as his creature, and considering that Vinta's greatest advantage was his invisibility, he had an advantage.

"Chaotic Universe, since it is your first drome match, you will be the attacker. Select the battle location. Activate your location randomiser."

Steven assumed it was the large white spinner and gave it a spin. The locations passed quickly before stopping with a beep on the Forest of Life.

"The battle will take place in the Forest of Life. Select your attacking and target creature please." The robotic voice said.

"Easy choice here. Tangath Toborn attacks Vinta."

"Chaotic Universe, touch your Tangath Toborn card."

Steven raised his hand and placed it on the card. As soon as he did, the screen vanished and swirls of blue digits started flowing around him. Gasping, Steven closed his eyes as a strange tingling sensation ran all over him. When it stopped, the young man opened his eyes only to notice he wasn't a young man anymore, but a giant lion-like creature. John rolled his eyes as he touched his own card, awaiting the inevitable newbie freak out. But when his transformation was complete, he was a bit surprised to see his opponent grinning like an idiot.

"Uhh... You okay there?" He asked.

"Am I okay?!" Steven exclaimed. "I'm better than okay! This is absolutely awesome! I'm actually Tangath Toborn!" The now Overworld warrior nearly shouted, looking himself over.

"It won't be that awesome once I've beaten your tail seven ways to sunday, lion-boy." John smirked.

"Wait. What?" Steven said, realising suddenly what Connie meant by battling AS the creature.

"Chaotic Universe as Tangath Toborn will battle against John Dechiled as Vinta in the Forest of life. Let the battle begin." The robotic voice said.

"Come on Mr.'Professional Beach Hunk'." Vinta smirked. "Let's get Chaotic!"


	4. Puns He just had to make puns!

\- Chapter Four: Puns... He just had to make puns -

Before the half-gem could protest, a bright flash of light engulfed them, forcing Steven to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, he was standing on the top of a large hill overlooking a dense forest. He stood still for a few moments, taking in the sight before grinning.

"This is the best day ever!" He exclaimed. "I'm Tangath Toborn in the Forest of Life... But there's an angry mipedian out to get me." He sighed. "Okay. First things first, I better get to cover. Don't want to get spotted..."

Just as he said that, he took a step to the side. Unfortunately, he happened to place his foot on a loose stone and the next thing he knew, he felt nothing but air under his foot. With a yell, he slipped over the edge and rolled down the steep slope, shouting all the way. He crashed at the foot of the hill, rather noisily. When the dust cleared, he found himself lying down, his face awkwardly pressed into the dirt, his knees tucked close to him, his butt high and his tail dropped over his face. With a sight, he blew his tail out of his sight and mumbled:

"And we're off to a slamming start..." With a groan, he pushed himself up on his knees. "Better get moving before the other guy gets here. I can't keep _LION_ around." He snorted at his own joke.

Outside of the drome, all those watching the match let out disgusted groans at the pun. Except Connie, who bursted into laughter. The teens next to her looked both confused and frightened at her reaction.

"You actually found this funny?" One of the boys exclaimed. "It was downright painful!"

"The pun was _amusing_. Your _reactions_ were priceless!" She said before laughing again at their annoyed expression.

"Okay." Steven said, taking a deep breath. "No more puns. Serious mode... Man, I sound so _cool_ with Tangath's voice-No!" He shook his head. "Focus, Steven. You gotta get moving before Vinta gets here."

With that prompting him on, the Overworld player began running into the thick of the forest. Just as he entered the dense foliage, the air shimmered and Vinta appeared from behind a tree. The mipedian stared at the lion-like creature as he ran through the forest. **I sure hope he doesn't plan on making another pun.** The brunette thought. **I barely kept myself from facepalming and giving away my position.** With that, Vinta vanished once again and began following his target.

Steven, as Tangath Toborn, rushed through the thick vegetation. As he ran, he began more accustomed to the body he was in. Eyes narrowing, he began running on all four. With a grunt of effort, he jumped forward and landed in a crouch on a fallen log. Looking around, he stood up and scratched his head.

"Okay... If I were a mipedian, where would I hide?" He asked himself, but realised something. "What am I saying? He could be anywhere! He's invisible!" He exclaimed. "Heh... These bushes over there would be perfect for an am _bush_."

Just as he said that, Steven heard a groan from behind him. John cursed under his breath as the other turned around to stare right at him. Since his cover was blown, he decided to attack.

"Wind Slash!" He shouted as he became visible.

But Steven had realised his presence too soon and was able to dodge the attack. The lion warrior jumped and rolled aside before darting off into the forest, trying to lose his opponent. Vinta grunted in frustration as he turned invisible again.

 **Puns... He just had to make puns!**

 **(A.N: I am rather bad at making puns. If you have any ideas, please post them in the comments. I'll promise to credit you. Thanks.)**


	5. How's it hanging?

\- Chapter Five: Work on the Title -

Steven ran through the dense foliage, checking over his shoulder every now and again. After a few minutes, he slowed down to a stop and crouched behind some bushes. Not that hiding would do him much good if he couldn't spot his opponent. **Good thing I got that covered.** Steven thought as he reached for his Spectro Viewers, but realised he didn't have them on. **Shoot! Where are they? Did I drop them in the fall?.. I better summon my shield for extra protection.**

The young man focused and tried to summon his shield, a feet that had become easy for him lately. However, there seemed to be something wrong when he failed to make it appear. Panicking at the fact his gem wasn't working, he reached for it but then realised it wasn't there. **Where's my... Oh, wait. I'm not me right now. I'm Tangath Toborn, and he doesn't have a gem...** He realised slowly. **Man, it feels weird having only flesh where my gem is supposed to be.**

"Come on, Steven. Think!" He berated himself, quietly. "I can't do my usual tricks here, so I gotta act like Tangath would. What would he do?"

As he focused, he sensed some ideas forming in his mind. Attacks the warrior could use. As he focused, his hand heated up before a ball of fire formed in it. Gasping, he drew his hand back and the fire vanished. Steven stared in awe at his hand before smiling. **Okay, now I know how attacks work. But that still won't help me find the other guy.**

"How do you find a guy that's invisible?" He wondered. "Well, I could try to force him to show himself. But how? I can't lure him out with food, I don't have any! Hmm... Just a while ago, I noticed he was here when he groaned... At my joke? I mean, I know it was pretty weak, but..."

The young man fell quiet when a realisation hit him. **Maybe he's like Lars and finds puns annoying? Okay. How can I use that to my advantage?** He thought for a few moments before grinning excitedly.

"What is he doing?!" Connie exclaimed as she watched her best friend confidently _march_ right into the open.

"Getting himself killed, is what he's doing." Came a condescending response from the most despicable human Connie knew.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to mock others, Klay?" She sneered.

"Not at the moment." He replied, gaining a nasty glare. "Well, let's look on the bright side. The sooner that noob gets coded, the less likely we are to hear another one of his terrible puns."

The blond teenager soon ate back his words when he heard Tangath's voice shouting:

" _Hey! What do you call an owl that knows magic trick?.._ "

"HOO-DINI!" Steven finished his joke, trying not to snort as he listened for a sign of his opponent. "Don't like it? Not to worry, there's plenty more where that came from."

Further away, the mipedian players was searching for his opponent. I can't believe I lost him so easily! But just as he thought that, he heard a voice in the distance. Heh. The noob must've fallen down again. With that, he followed the sound of the voice. As he arrived at the clearing, he quirked an eyebrow seeing the lion-like warrior standing there, his shoulders quacking. Before he could wonder if something was wrong with the other player, Steven caught his breath and said.

"Ok, ok... How do you organise a party in space?" A sense of dread crawled up John's spine. "You planet!"

Vinta barely had time to cover his mouth to keep any sound from escaping as he ducked behind a tree. OMG! He's still making puns?! Why? This is a battle not a bad stand-up comedy routine!

"Gee! Tough crow. I can't imagine why, though. My humour is always on time! I guess you could say..." Oh no... "I'm pretty PUN-ctual?"

The experienced player had to bite his hand as hard as he could to keep himself from groaning. What was this idiots problem? Was he trying to annoy him into showing himself..?! Oh my god... That's exactly what he's doing! John realised as Steven kept at it.

"Why did the scientist install a knocker on his door?.. He wanted to win the NObel prize!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! John screamed internally. I can't take much more of this! Without thinking twice, he jumped out into the open, turning visible as he threw an attack. Unfortunately, Steven happened to be staring right in his direction when he did and easily dodged the Lightning Strike.

"Vine Snare!" The half-gem cried out as his fingers stretched out into plants to latch onto the mipedian. With a grunt of effort, Steven launched his opponent into the air, over a branch so the lizard-player was hanging upside down.

"Yo! How's it hanging?" Steven asked with a grin.


	6. Coded

\- Chapter 6: Coded -

"Please!" John cried. "No more puns! This is torture!"

"Consider it your PUN-ishment for attacking me!" Steven replied, making the mipedian player scream. "Look, man. Just calm down! We don't have to fight!"

"What?"

"I don't want to fight you. Ok?" Steven explained.

"Ha." The other player scoffed. "Dude, if you think you'll last in Chaotic with that type of thinking, you're gonna have a bad time."

"Can't we talk about this?" Steven tried again as his opponent struggled to get out of the vines. "If you would just listen..."

"How about you listen to this? THUNDER SHOUT!"

With a cry, the lizard-like creature sent a shock wave towards Steven. The half-gem immediately let go of the vines and dodged to the side. Vinta stood up, now free of restraints and shot another Lightning Strike towards the overworlder. Steven kept dodging, and started running away, keeping an eye on his opponent as he retreated. But John kept tailing him throughout the dense forest. As Steven avoided another attack, he suddenly stopped, nearly falling over a cliff.

"End of the line, dude!" John gloated. "Tornado Tackle!"

The strong blast of wind knocked the lion-like creature backwards, straight into empty air. As he fell, Steven screamed in fright, his panic becoming worse when he couldn't slow his descent. **Shoot! I forgot! Can't do that either... Come on! Think!** He berated himself as the ground got nearer with each passing seconds. **Wait! My mugic!**

"Song of Reversal!"

He wasn't sure exactly how he activated the mugic, but he knew it worked when strange notes filled the air. John realised he was in trouble when a bright flash of light suddenly robbed the ground from under him. Steven, on the other hand, sighed in relief as he felt solid earth beneath his hands. He stood and jogged over to the edge of the cliff, looking down to spot his opponent. The half-gem leaped back as Vinta zoomed past him, a Torweg on his back.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did y-" John was interrupted when a blast of fire nearly missed him. "WO! What the hell dude?! I thought you wouldn't fight?"

"I said I didn't want to fight! But I can and will if you force me! So I let's just calm down and..."

"Hailstorm!" Vinta cried out as shard of ice fell towards Steven.

"Come on, man! Work with me here!" He shouted back. "Powerpulse!"

The green energy fists slammed onto the mipedian head on, making him spin into the air. With a growl, John retaliated with a lightning strike attack, that Steven easily dodged before sending a Lavalanche. Not being very experienced with a Torweg, the mipedian player was unable to dodge the attack and cried out in pain.

"Oh! Jeez! I-I'm sorry!" Steven said, feeling awful. "Are you alright?"

Thinking the other was mocking him, the insulted John sent a Cyclone slam, that missed again! Frustrated, he kept trying to attack the other player, but continuously missed. Steven, on the other hand, was both surprised and worried at such a hostile reaction. He was just trying to help. **I got to get him to stop!** He thought.

"Delirium!" He shouted as the beam of light hit the mipedian head on.

John groaned, unable to focus. Vinta's wisdom being only at 25, the Delirium attack, which required 50 to have no effect, made everything spin in front of his eyes. Having little control over his movements, he started wavering in the air.

"LaST chAnce, BiG guY..." He heard Tangath Toborn say.

"W-When this wears offfff... I-I'll kiiick your aaa..." John tried to snap back at him.

With a sight, Steven glared. **Have it your way.**

"Rustoxic!"

The stream of rusty metal hit the recovering player, and slowly began to spread over him. As his body froze, so did his battlegear. The Torweg coughed a few flames before shutting down, taking the mipedian right back down the drop he avoided before. Steven looked away as he heard the scream getting quieter. With a bang, everything bursted into millions of blue digits.

* * *

Outside, Connie cheered as she jumped in the air, overjoyed at Steven's first victory in Chaotic. As for others that were watching, they were rather surprised at how easily the newbie got the hang of battling as a creature. Most of them could barely walk without tripping on their first battle.

"Don't get too excited, missy." Klay sneered. "Your boyfriend just got lucky!"

"That wasn't luck, Klay!" A raven-haired teen with blue eyes replied. "This guy is already a very good player and you know it."

"Except you won't admit it, 'cause you're scared of competition." Chuckled a blonde girl with green eyes.

"And you loosers can mind your own business!" He snapped at them.

"We could say the same to you!" Argued the redhead of the group.

"Yeah! You don't have room to talk." A large brown-haired boy said. "Yo, Connie! Saw your buddies match! Very impressive."

"Thanks, Peyton!" She said, standing up. "I'm going to congratulate him. Later!"

With that, the young woman ran towards the entrance of the Imthor Drome, impatient to see Steven so she could ask him what he thought of Chaotic.


	7. Adventure Awaits

\- Chapter 7: Adventure Awaits! -

"The winner of the match... Chaotic Universe." The robotic voice announced as Steven opened his eyes to find himself back in the dome.

"I won?.. Yeah! I won!" He cheered as the image of Tangath Toborn melted away from his body.

He didn't get to savour his victory for long when he saw the nasty glare the other player was sending him. John was mad. Not only had he been beaten by a newbie, but the newbie had made it one of his most embarrassing matches ever! Steven flinched as guilt grew in his gutt.

"Hey, are you okay?" The half-gem asked nervously. "Those attacks I hit you with looked pretty painful..."

"It's bad enough that you beated me so easily, now you have to brag about it too?" John snapped, grabbing his scanner and walking away.

"I-I'm not bragging! I'm just worried I hurt you-"

"If you had stood still, maybe you would know what attacks feel like!" The blond spat, exiting the dome, with Steven right behind him.

"I don't need to get hit by lightning to know it's painful!" The larger teen exclaimed. "I didn't want to fight, but you just wouldn't let up and..."

"STEVEN!"

The young man turned at the sound to his name just in time to, once again, catch his best friend into a hug. John scoffed as he walked away, disgusted by the display. Steven couldn't go after him because the moment Connie released him, she launched herself into an excited rant.

"Oh my gosh, Steven! You were amazing! The way you dodged all his attacks and blasted him right back was awesome! You looked so natural at being Tangath Toborn. You figured out how to work the game so quickly!" She exclaimed, an excited look on her face. "And using the Song of Reversal was a strike of genius! If he hadn't had a Torweg with him, you would've coded him for sure! And punning him out of hidding was hysterical! I never thought of trying something like that."

"Thanks..." The young man said bashfully, a small blush appearing on his cheeks.

"So?"

"... So?.. 'So' what?" He asked, confused.

"What do you think of the game, Steven?! It's amazing, right? So much more fun than playing online, don't you think?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah! Totally! Absolutely... Intense!.." He said, looking nervously around.

Steven had many qualities, and honest was one of them. However, seeing how much Connie loved the game, he didn't want to disappoint her by telling her he didn't like it. Because it wasn't true. He had loved the experience... Except for the fighting part. He just couldn't feel okay with hurting someone else. But since it was such a big part of this version of Chaotic, he couldn't tell Connie that. Fortunately, he was also a bad liar, and the girl quickly picked up that something was wrong.

"Steven, is there something you're not telling me?" She asked, which made the young man even more nervous.

"What? No! Why wouldn't I tell you something? Especially if that something was bothering me, 'cause that's not what friends do! Friends tell each other everything and they are completely honest with each other! More so when they've... Been friends for years and just... hate... lying..." He slowly fell quiet as he saw Connie's very serious look.

"Steven..." She said, which made the young gem avert his eyes.

"Steeeven..." She said sweetly, trying to coax him into relaxing, which failed as he only seemed more nervous.

"Steven! Look at me!" She said harshly, forcing him to focus on her. "Whatever it is you want to say, you can say it. I'm not gonna get mad at you!.. It's fine if you don't like the game-"

"I-I do! I do like the game!" He exclaimed. "It was mind-blowing! I still can't believe I was actually Tangath Toborn! It felt amazing, being this awesome warrior and actually seeing the location in a real-life experience! The mugic, the attacks, all of it was so real and intense and... I don't have words to describe it! I just..."

"You just..?" She encouraged him.

"Ididn'tlikethatwehadtofight!" He blurted out. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the experience was still great, but having to attack someone and hurt them just made me feel awful and I understand that battling is probably the best thing about this place but-"

"It's just not for you." Connie said, summarising his thoughts. "Of course... I-I should've realised that. You're Steven, of course you wouldn't like the fighting. You're a pacifist." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just liked it so much here I didn't think that you would feel differently. When you got your code, I was so excited I didn't really think everything through..."

"It's fine! Aside from the fighting, everything else was awesome!" He assured her. "And I'm sorry too... About trying to lie to you."

"Heh... I just realised, this is ' _Unfamiliar Familiar_ ' all over again!" The young woman snorted.

"... Ha! You're right. Except this time, I didn't need a cloud clone version of you forcing the truth out of me..." He chuckled.

"Yeah. But I don't get something, Steven. When you battle online, or with the cards, you're fine. So what puts you off this battle so much?"

"Well, with the cards, it's mostly strategy and knowing your deck. Here, it's an important part, but the real life danger just isn't really working for me."

"I get it. You're into so much real danger with the Gems, so when you have off time, the last thing you'd want to do is fight even more."

"Yeah... Sorry I can't get into this as much as you do..." He apologised.

"It's fine! Battling in the Dromes isn't the only thing you can do around here." She told him. "And if you want to see Perim in real life, you don't have to be in a drome match to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the Transport Center when you first arrived? Not only does it send you back on earth, but I can also send you to Perim." She explained, a smile growing on her face as Steven seemed completely blown away by the fact.

"You mean I can actually go to the real Perim?! Like, it's not a computer generated program? It's the real deal?!" He squealed.

"Yup! You can even meet the creatures and get scans of them, and their battle gear, and mugic-"

"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" The half-gem exclaimed, grabbing Connie by the arm and running off. "Adventure awaits!"

* * *

 **(A.N: Hello readers. Sorry it took nearly a month to post a new chapter, but I've been busy. You're review really encouraged me to writte more. However, I have to admit that I don't really have a clear plan on where this story is going to go. I was thinking about following this with a series of one-shots, small adventures that Connie and Steven have in Chaotic, with minor interraction with the canon characters. However, I'm not sure when during the Chaotic series this story is happening. I could also rewritte the Chaotic series with Steven and Connie in it.**

 **Tell me what you think I should do.)**


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